The power of media is strong and it also exerts some degree of influence upon us as we decided to travel for a short getaway to Melaka. Chendols, chicken rice Balls, Nonya Laksa (not Assam), yummy kuehs with special Melaka "sugar"... but more importantly to experience and have a taste of "Little Nonya" culture.... It was quite a distance from Singapore to Melaka - a total of about 6 hours++. The bus ride was different from those I took in Thailand, Cambodia or Laos - they dun offer bread and mineral water - and also no local "blast" music Xp. Usually, we dun spend more than 1 day in Melaka - rushing from stalls to stalls, museums to museums just to "conquer" as many places in one single day. This time is different - backpack "Munapong" style - slow and steady and with my camera and my backpack...
The streets like Hang Jebat (A character I studied in my lower secondary English Literature - also remember Hang Tuah) are narrow and we have to share with cars and bicycles. Most of the houses got the feel of traditional Baba Nonya style and the show "LIttle Nonya" is featured in one of the museums too! 原来屋顶会有燕窝, 我们的确看到佷多燕子! There are many traditional items on sale - something that I rem my parents have been using - traditional bowls, shoes etc...
Sometimes, old memories are fond memories that make us smile and even giggle Xp. I recalled one of my CNY trips with my parents when our tour group arrived very late in Melaka - and we only able to buy some chicken rice Balls as supper. Well, eating 10 balls without any meat no so nice afterall Xp.Also remembered that we got stuck in the Hotel waiting to check-in as our tour guide didnt manage to secure enuff rooms for the group - this was the "unhappy" portion. Well, actually "unhappy" stuff is past and we should not be bothered with them - should treat it with a giggle as well. Life still goes on, the camera will still be used to capture new photos and play with new lights - the memory cards will need to be formatted to make room for new pictures - Life still goes on.
The nights were heavy with storms - you could hear the strong winds blowing against the windows and noisy downpour. Straits of Melaka - a very famous term that we used in History and Geography lesson - this trip did bring us back like a time capsule to our past - recalling bits and pieces of our childhood, well, more correct to say "studenthood"? We didnt manage to catch the 45min-boat ride but we could image the ride under the bridges. Hmm...maybe next time we can catch the ride again (heard from some conversations from tourists that the ride is "nice" during night - like Shanghai?).
Temperature was really High during our stay in Melaka though. Have wanted to wake up early in the morning to capture street vendors opening stalls and preparing for their busy day. But too hot outsides as we preferred to hide under artificial ventilation. Frankly, our last Macau or HK trip was cooler - didnt sweat much even when we climbed steep steps. Maybe it's time to go to cooler places liao. Well, timely too since my "studenthood" will be "expiring soon"....
五月的小娘惹之行, 有点热, 但是还是佷有趣. 记得暗暗的古老酒店, 排队吃跟海南鸡饭不同的味道, 不怕吃得太凉的冷甜品, 经过有蝙蝠的街道, 容易迷路的小巷... 但我们知道这是另一次不同的记忆.
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